The federal security chief at Dulles International Airport had a blood alcohol level of 0.26, more than three times the legal limit, when he was arrested for drunken driving on New Year's Day, according to court papers.

If convicted in court, Charles D. Brady, 49, who lives in the Oakton area, faces a 10-day jail sentence. He is scheduled to appear Feb. 12 in Fairfax County General District Court.

The traffic ticket issued to Brady also indicated that he was stopped at 1 a.m. As the Transportation Security Administration's acting security director at Dulles, Brady was supposed to be on duty until 2 a.m., participating in a New Year's Eve security exercise while the nation was under a Code Orange alert.

Brady told The Washington Post last week that he was stopped at 2:30 a.m. He declined to comment yesterday.

After his arrest, Brady was placed on administrative leave by the TSA pending the outcome of an internal investigation. A TSA spokesman said Brady's status with the agency had not changed. Brady is a former Secret Service agent who was hired in April 2002 to help launch the TSA.

He was stopped on Route 28 in the Sully area of Fairfax County by a sergeant for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police department. The sergeant saw Brady driving erratically and arrested him on a charge of driving while intoxicated, a spokeswoman for the authority said.

Brady's traffic ticket stated that he is 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds and that he was driving a Dodge SUV. He was booked into the Fairfax County jail at 3 a.m., and Fairfax officials said Brady was cooperative.

The legal definition of intoxication in Virginia is a blood alcohol level of 0.08. Although most DWI warrants do not indicate the alleged blood alcohol level, lawyers familiar with such cases said it must be stated whether the prosecutor intends to seek the mandatory 10-day jail sentence. The 0.26 figure appears on Brady's arrest warrant.

Virginia law provides for a mandatory minimum five-day sentence if the driver's blood alcohol level is above 0.20, and a 10-day sentence if the level is above 0.25. The law states that the mandatory sentence cannot be suspended and must be served in addition to any time imposed by the judge if the driver is convicted.

The arrest was Brady's first for alleged drunken driving, the charge states.

In Fairfax General District Court, most first-time drunk drivers are given a suspended jail sentence and a $300 fine and lose their driver's license for 12 months.

Most drivers are granted a restricted license to drive to and from work during that period, but those with particularly high blood alcohol levels sometimes are refused restricted licenses.